Manor school board leader drops lawsuit vs. critic,
The Manor school board president, who on Saturday was voted out of office, has dropped her defamation lawsuit against one of her biggest critics, ending a back-and-forth legal battle between the two.
Desiree Cornelius-Fisher on Tuesday dismissed her lawsuit against Bradley Clark, a parent who is also a lawyer, who had publicly accused Cornelius-Fisher of abusing her power, intimidating district employees and misusing district funds. Cornelius-Fisher had sued Clark for libel and slander, saying his claims were untrue and were meant to damage her chances for re-election.
On Saturday, Cornelius-Fisher lost her bid for re-election after 15 years on the school board.
She could not be reached for comment.
In addition to the accusations he made at a school board meeting and on his blog, Clark sued early this year to have Cornelius-Fisher removed from office. He later put that suit on hold, saying he would wait until the results of the May election. Then Cornelius-Fisher filed her defamation suit.
Clark could not be reached for comment. The lawsuit he filed alleged 14 counts of official misconduct but did not detail evidence of those accusations.
District documents obtained by the American-Statesman under the Public Information Act revealed insight into one of the claims Clark made. The emails indicated at least two school employees felt pressured into tutoring Cornelius-Fisher’s grown daughter on district time.
The district has been in a state of upheaval since former Superintendent Kev- in Brackmeyer abruptly resigned in January. His supporters said the resignation was a forced ouster and blamed Cornelius-Fisher, one of four trustees who voted for the separation.
In March, as the political clash continued to escalate, the Public Integrity Unit, a department of the Travis County’s District Attorney’s office, launched an investigation of district officials, but it will not say which ones. On Wednesday, Gregg Cox, director of the unit, said the investigation is still ongoing, but he would not elaborate.
“We received multiple complaints regarding individuals within the district, and we’re evaluating all of those,” Cox said. “I can’t be more specific at this point.”